Kings showing great knack for recovery

Kyle Clifford #13 of the Los Angeles Kings vies for the puck between Brandon Saad #20 and Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Photograph by: Jonathan Daniel
, Getty Images

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - They have been el segundo --- meaning “the second” in Spanish --- for each of the first three rounds of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The lesser team in points, they have started on the road and, in the first two rounds at least, finished there, too, in Games 7 at San Jose and Anaheim.

So who are these guys, these Los Angeles Kings whose training rink is in El Segundo, south of L.A. International Airport, who refuse to be eliminated, who fall behind but resist all attempts to get rid of them?

Why, they are Las Cucarachas, the cockroaches of the National Hockey League post-season. Hardy, deceptively fast, pesky, stubborn, resourceful, capable of swarm behavior, known for group-based decision making, able to survive decapitation ….

OK, maybe not that last one.

But consistently able to recover, anyway, from the edge of the abyss, as they did Wednesday night in Chicago, fighting off a 2-0 second-period deficit to stay alive in the Western Conference final by scoring six unanswered goals on the defending Cup-champion Blackhawks to even the series at a game apiece.

It must have been music to the Kings’ ears to hear Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s frustrated post-game comments after Justin Williams’ goal just before the end of the second period gave the visitors a taste of possibility and brought the cockroaches out of hiding.

“We’re still fine at 2-0. You know, we get in after two, up 2-0, it’s a different game,” Quenneville said.

“We’ve seen this team in the playoffs, what they’ve been able to do when their backs are against the wall. We’ve got to play right through periods, right through games.

“They’re relentless in a lot of ways. We got to make sure when we get a chance like (Wednesday), we got to put ‘em away.”

Ah, but like Las Cucarachas, putting them away is easier said than done.

There was no magic, the Kings all said. Just persistence, and belief.

“Just stick with what we need to do,” said Jeff Carter, who has reclaimed his star status with great performances for Canada in Sochi and now with the Kings, for whom he scored three third-period goals in Game 2 (and assisted on a fourth).

“You know, we’ve got a good group of leaders in our room. We’ve been through comebacks and whatnot a lot lately. It’s not something we want to (have to) do. But we stick with it, grind it out, get the job done.”

“It’s not that we’re comfortable … well, maybe we’re a little comfortable being behind,” said centre Jarret Stoll. “We’re used to it, I guess.

“You never quit, you can’t. Crazy things can happen when you score. You can’t quit until it’s over, and that’s all it is. We have the right guys in there and the right coaches and the right attitude. You keep pushing and pushing.”

So they learned, when they were down three games to none to San Jose, and trailed the series with Anaheim 3-2.

Asked what he said between the second and third periods Wednesday, before the five-goal, third-period explosion, the head cockroach, Darryl Sutter, replied: nothing.

“You hear about all these big speeches that coaches make and all that,” Sutter said. “You know what? The players are getting the s--t beat out of them. They’re sweating and bleeding, and they don’t need all that. They don’t need some coach coming in there yelling and hollering.

“I don’t get that. That’s not me. If there’s something to be said, if it’s honest and the truth, you say it and you get out. If it’s something that helps them during the game, then that’s it. It’s not some great words or some great rallying cry between periods.

“You’re this far into the season, there’s that leadership. There’s that group of guys, and you trust what they’re doing. If you have to reinforce something, reinforce it. If not, stay out of their way.”

No one had to tell Las Cucarachas what was what. They had to win in Chicago, at some point. If they fell behind two games, against a team as experienced and skilled as the Hawks, it wasn’t going to get any easier later on.

“You don’t steal games in the playoffs. You can do it in the regular season, because of the schedule or maybe the lineup or something like that,” Sutter said, “but in the playoffs … it’s pretty much straight-up: wait until High Noon, and get out there.”

Until Game 2, the Hawks had been 7-0 at home in these playoffs, 8-0 when scoring the first goal. They had a Madhouse full of 22,019 fans, their 275th consecutive sellout.

If Sutter had anything particular in mind after two periods Wednesday, it was simply this: “At some point they’re going to lose a game at home. They’re not going to win every one.”

Chicago had owned the Kings for a couple of seasons, and one win doesn’t completely change the lay of the land, mind you.

“Well, we don’t (lack) confidence. I’ve never seen it once,” Sutter said. “You were probably questioning how we played in Game 1. I thought we played better in Game 1 than we did in Game 2. We didn’t leave the game not being confident. If every game you lost, you lost your confidence, then you guys don’t have to cover hockey in April, May and June.”

That’s equally true of the Blackhawks, after one loss.

“I think there's got to be a reaction. We shouldn't be happy about it,” said Quenneville, who’ll have feisty forward Andrew Shaw back in the lineup for Game 3 on Saturday at Staples Center.

“I think that's how you get past it, by doing something about it, I think there's anger involved. I think that's not a bad thing to have.”

Besides, there’s a little cockroach in every team that’s still playing this spring.

“Yeah, we've been in some tough spots,” Quenneville said. “Look at last year, down 2 1 to Boston, 3 1 to Detroit, (and this year) 2 0 to St.Louis, 2 2 in the Minnesota series.

“It's 1 1. There's a lot of hockey left in this series between two really good teams. A lot to be decided.”

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